Basque Matcha Cheesecake

Basque Matcha Cheesecake

Basque Matcha Cheesecake

With the addition of one single component, Japanese Matcha Green Tea Powder, the now-famous cheesecake has morphed into something completely different. Here, the cake has a gorgeous striking green color, and the flavor has also changed dramatically. The recipe brings together ingredients from Basque and Japanese cultures for a novel fusion dessert.

We’ve made Basque BURNT Cheesecake several times, and it is always a big hit. With no fruit topping, no crust and five simple ingredients – cream cheese, sugar, salt, eggs, and cream – it is astonishing how absolutely fabulous the original cheesecake actually is…it is baked in a very hot oven so the top and bottom caramelize where the insides remain soft and luxurious.

The cheesecake recipe was originally developed by Santiago Rivera, Chef of La Viña in San Sebastian, Spain. The Chef says, “Its popularity amongst our clients have become La Viña Restaurant’s Cheese Cream Cake a great classic of the San Sebastian cuisine.”

Matcha Green Tea has an intense and complex flavor profile with vegetal grassy flavors, a unique sweet nuttiness, and savory umami notes.

The vibrant green hue is due to the high concentration of chlorophyll in the leaves, a result of the bushes being covered up in shade for about 3 weeks before harvesting. The whole leaves are steamed, dried, and then finally stone ground to a fine powder.

Basque Matcha Cheesecake

Basque Matcha Cheesecake Recipe

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Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Here is a black cod dish inspired by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, but probably not in the way one would think. The legendary chef’s arguably most popular recipe is Miso Marinated Black Cod. A preparation that is absolutely worth every accolade. We recently enjoyed his signature black cod fillet at Nobu Paris Las Vegas, along with several other incredible dishes.

But here, I am preparing Alaska black cod simply, sautéed with crispy skin. It is served over a complex broth inspired by Nobu’s cookbook Nobu West where he shares a soup made with watercress (or spinach), dashi, and soy milk.

Black cod’s silky-rich luxurious flesh and its contrasting crispy skin are complemented by the extraordinary broth where spinach brings bright earthy green flavor and color, dashi adds umami and hints of the sea, tamari for salty notes, soy milk for a light creaminess, and rice vinegar for acidity. Steamed white rice is served on the side, it is heavenly dipped in the spinach dashi. Micro watercress is a nod to Chef Nobu’s original recipe.

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Nobu's Miso Black Cod @ Paris Las Vegas
Nobu’s Miso Black Cod @ Paris Las Vegas

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi Recipe

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Parisian Tuna Tartare

Parisian Tuna Tartare

Albacore Tuna Tartare in the “French Steak” Style

By many accounts, Restaurant Le Duc was the first in Paris to serve Nouvelle raw fish beginning around 1975, including salmon tartare and tuna tartare. In 1984 at Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills, Chef Shigefumi Tachibe put tuna tartare on the map. But STEAK tartare appeared in bistros long before, as early as the late 19th century in France.

This Parisian version of tuna tartare has none of the current popular ingredients – no avocado, no sesame oil, no ginger, no soy sauce. It is prepared in the old style of French Steak Tartare with classic components including onion, capers, pickles, and egg.

The sauce is a combination of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Instead of the standard raw egg yolk, a hard boiled egg yolk is pressed through a course mesh sieve to make a rich fluffy addition to the condiments.

Sushi-quality raw albacore tuna has a soft, buttery texture and mild flavor. The meat of albacore tuna species is white or pale pink in color. Albacore is simply lovely in this Parisian style first course, which is equally stellar as a happy hour appetizer with a glass of Rosé…

Parisian Tuna Tartare

Parisian Tuna Tartare Recipe

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Citrus Salmon Crudo à la Mayfair Supper Club

Citrus Salmon Crudo à la Mayfair Supper Club

Citrus Salmon Crudo
(Orange-Lime-Lemon Emulsion, Yuzu Kosho)

Citrus Salmon à la Mayfair Supper Club

Dinner at Mayfair Supper Club Las Vegas

A couple of years ago we had a wonderful dining experience at the Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Fine food and wines, impeccable service, and mesmerizing entertainment made for a most memorable evening. Totally enamored by their Heirloom Tomato Salad, I re-created it here.

Well… we recently returned to celebrate my sister’s birthday. And the Mayfair Supper Club again did not disappoint with its glitz and glamour and old-school clubby ambiance.

Citrus Salmon à la Mayfair Supper Club

Citrus Salmon Crudo à la Mayfair Supper ClubCitrus Salmon Crudo à la Mayfair Supper Club

Our Mayfair Supper Club Meal

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Beet, Lentil, Strawberry Salad

Beet, Lentil, Strawberry Salad

Happy Valentine’s Day
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Beet, Lentil, Strawberry Salad
With Yogurt, Hazelnuts, and Radicchio

The inspiration for this Valentine’s Day salad came from our lunch at Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas where we thoroughly enjoyed a salad course of roasted golden beets over Greek yogurt with kumquats (fruit), pistachios (nuts), and a white balsamic vinaigrette.

Here, red beets are also served over Greek yogurt with beluga lentils, freeze dried strawberries (fruit), toasted hazelnuts (nuts), radicchio and Gordon Ramsay’s beet dressing.

The vibrant red salad is perfect for Valentine’s (or any other day for that matter) with sweet, savory, earthy, bitter, nutty, and creamy notes. It’s a symphony of color, flavor, texture, and crunch.

Beet, Lentil, Strawberry Salad

❤️ Valentine’s Day Salad ❤️

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